The Parliamentary representative for Roseau South, Ambrose George, struggled unsuccessfully to control his emotions at the official handing over ceremony on Friday evening of new houses to six families of Silver Lake.
“I am very emotional about it,” he said through tears.
Friday 19th September 2014, will mark the day when these families began to sleep in comfort and ease, a far cry from the cramped quarters of the long houses that they were forced to make do with following Hurricane David in 1979, when they fled from the city to take refuge a few miles away.
They were given the keys to their new homes which come at no cost to them. They will also be provided with all the amenities including water connections with a three months grace period at no cost.
“We are not going to stop here,” George told the huge crowd gathered at the entrance of the housing complex which is located along the Silver Lake high way. “We are going to continue to improve the housing conditions in Silver Lake.”
Phase two of the Silver Lake Housing Project is expected to begin soon with funding provided by government under phase two of the Silver Lake Re-development Project. The process is currently at the tendering stage with the deadline set for next Wednesday (24th September 2014).
In that phase, long house number one will be demolished and another apartment building will be constructed in the same location. It is anticipated that within one year the community will have a new face lift.
“So that within the next few years and in quick time, we expect to see a total transformation of housing in the Silver Lake area. And you can look forward to that and this government when it makes a promise, it keeps that promise,” George stated.
He told the Silver Lake residents that their improved living conditions are also expected to be accompanied by an elevated sense of pride as Dominicans.
“This is what I envisage for the people of Silver Lake,” he pointed out, “a proud people with a will to help themselves, to avail themselves to every opportunity that comes to their doorsteps.”
The six families were encouraged to keep their surroundings clean and treat the houses as if they were built by their own sweat and blood.
The four, two bedroom, and two, one bedroom apartments cost about EC$ 1 Million.
The project began in October 2013 and ended in July 2014.
for all the ppl saying uwpites r greedy n would rather see these ppl on the road…dont rnt u all encouraging the labour party to have made an apartment complex in these poor areas?hm?that is what governments do in democratic countries…apartment complex and rent a room to poor ppl at a low cost per room INSTEAD of giving 6 to 6 every election year and encouraging the rest to come and beg for their house too?does that make sense?just for votes?for votes?…an apartment complex or homeless apartments wouldav been better if they were not just trying to buy votes and brainwash these poor ppl into thinking that they have to beg to reach to higher levels…smh…open ur eyes
Easy going
How many inmates for these residential homes.? What family types? How many are able to engage in gainful employment? What next for these families?
This will definitely remove “Blight” from this area. I sincerely hope that there was some type of training program for the families, so that they can continue to sustain themselves. They will not be able to maintain these buildings if they have zero income.
The last week has seen more announced projects for Dominica than I have ever seen before. If 75% of these projects materialize, Dominica would have definitely moved forward. Then again, election must be around the corner.
As history unfolds it is interesting that the Silver Lake community has been housed by the emergency structures built by the OJ Seraphin admnistration followig hurricane David that though basic has withstood 35 years before another labour administration has done new structures.
The OJ wood block of houses in the lower end of Bath estate still exists as well as the the Royal Bank HOUSING scheme on the other side of bath estate considered by experts as a model of financing for the middle income persons —most of these houses have been remodeled over the years effectively
Then again the 200 houses built by from CDB funds was initiated by the PATRICK JOHN Labour Government but with OJ SERAPHIN as the Minister of housing and later chairman of the NEW HOUSING CORPORATION …
History cannot be held in ransom and ignored ..SO AMBROSE CRIES AT 6 APARTMENTS ?
Check what OJ and PJ BUILT IN THAT AREA !!!
Well Eugenai did build even more on the river bank of bath estate … come again comrades give credit where it is due ..for too long we Dominicans hide the achievements of our past Leaders !!!
that wicked government over price every thing . I wonder who scoring on this projects… hmmm
Ambrose what u crying for is it that u are ashamed of your poor performance to the Roseau South constituencies change is possible change change is a must and change is coming
way to go Trueman could not have said it better.
We must be aware of the situation those families were living in difficult times.Dominicans be mindful that things are not always nice and dandy for some families.When my wife wasn’t working I use to get more money on my income tax return .From the moment she started to work it was reduced by almost 75% am living in st.croix and people are struggling to pay rent.I work in a housing complex .The FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SUBSIDY HOUSE RENT.THEY ALSO GIVE UTILITY CKECKS,YET RESIDENT ARE IN ARREARS . Some pay $5,10,15,20 RENT AND STILL DONT PAY THEIR RENT.Apart from that they get food stamp and free medical service,free school yet they can`t afford to build a house after 30 ,40 years.Dominicans why?WHY? put down a government trying to help .Some of us came from Dominica and end up in the same situation.Some people try their best to achieve comfort on their own but they just can`t find the way.Living overseas is not always milk and honey.Come see for yourself .The road is wide open.
I am happy for the residents they can vote for who they please thats their choice at least they have received comfort lets stop thinking of the politician and his motive but be happy for these Dominicans.
To the people of Silver Lake who received your new housing, good luck and happiness in your new home. Be proud of it. Take good care of the interior and exterior including the outer surroundings. Let the outer building be a beautiful sight to behold and proudly view by passersby and also visitors.
God bless you in your new home.
Well written TRUEMAN. Again FREE, that’s all some Dominicans know. Shame on them. They are really blind to see whats taking place in front of them and really deaf to listen to facts. I feel really sorry. Those apartments look so tiny. .
the labour governments both in the past and now the present done the people a justice by housing constructions,this i applaud,PJ did it,now skerrit,good works DLP
5 more years
Stop teaching Dominican to be lazy and dependence on the government, create jobs not handout.Dominica will get no where with all these handouts.Show the poor how to get out of poverty by create jobs.
tricks in trade everything does always happen before election ppl…… dah!
Smh well here we again. Another political move but yet still you’ll fail to see the big picture .People still suffer while they get richer, thank god I can leave anywhere outside that island of misery.
they were given the keys to the apartments at no cost to them. what does this say? this Govt. is discouraging the spirit of sacrifice. the spirit of self sufficieny & self reliability if this is allowed to continue in this way even the spirit of blessed work will die!!!
Bishop’sboys nous publish a book Oct 03 -2014 dinner and sewo $125.00 in aid of groceries for residents of new found homes. furnishing them too.
Help in the cause initiated by BOYS NOUS and Crazy Tees.
who are the six people they give keys to the apartment there did they give marie one for so long that she is there
The man Medard learn from Hugo Chavez.heck Utube for pics on ghetto life in Venezuela.
DNO with your cooperation I would like to submit an analysis of this housing project, the questionable cost and why this is the wrong way to go in the development of housing.
I am in full support of giving assistance to the people of Silver Lake to improve their housing condition but this is not the way it should be done.
How does the government of Dominica explain spending one million dollars for six families without allowing them the opportunity to contribute one drop of sweat, yet the people at the Grotto Home are languishing with thieves trying to take care of more than fifty genuinely homeless people?
How can a Contractor be allowed to make a profit of $250,000.00 on a low income housing project? I challenge the Housing Division to make public all the costings for this project and allow an independent Quantity Surveyor to scrutinize the costs to verify whether the people of Dominica got value for money.
Ambrose George must cry, because his campaign manager is smiling all the way to the bank with a full pocket.
There is no rocket science in determining that the materials for that building did not cost more than $450,000.00. It is concrete, blocks, steel, plywood, aluminum windows, doors and some cheap ceramic tiles.
So can the labor cost for this building be $550,000.00? I say hell no!
I smell a rat in this project and it stinks.
DNO, give me the dimensions of this building and I will give you the true cost of construction, the rest will be profit for the boys.
If this type of robbery can take place so openly where any little contractor can determine the cost of construction, one can imagine what happens when those guys are talking Millions!
DNO I await your response with an Editor’s note and I also hope that this contribution will pass your moderation test.
Thank you DNO for moderating until dooms day.
Uwp made a fountain on d Bayfront the value of a small house. I wonder if the UWPites condemned there party for such a waste. Cause right now I think its the most expensive flowerpot in Dominica.
Best allu really put the elections every year wii!! Every year we getting free stuff!
house at no cost? you can fool some of the people some of the times but cant fool all the people all the time. the cost is they and their household have to be sure voters and supporters of labor……
WELL I WILL be happy for the day that hard working people such as nurses,police officers and teachers are given the opportunity to own their own homes. something they are willing to pay for.Not something for free.. Just another way to keep the people poor and begging…SMH
Aren’t there institutionalized and proven social programs established in the developed countries? Aren’t these programs embedded within their development plan. If it’s good for these developed countries then it’s better for Dominica. Keep up the good work of assisting the needed, for the Bible says “when I was naked he clothed me”, when I was hungry he gave me bread…….
35 years to build 6 apt’s. ??
My pm is. Working. Where is the UWP leader enjoying Las Vegas
like it or not give credit where credit is due…labour kept their prmoise
TRUEMAN says it best….’A culture of dependency’.
Dominica can never rise to self dependence when the people are not taught self-reliance.
How can you just hand keys to people and expect this country to progress? Then where do they get the money to maintain and protect that investment? What message is it sending to the rest of the nation?
This makes Dominica the welfare capital of the Caribbean – where even the government itself has to get welfare to supplement budgets and take care of the country’s needs.
Same way the NEP is a sham. Government shouldn’t pay companies to hire workers just to pad employment rates! So when NEP money runs out, then what?…massive layoffs, right? That’s coming.
The government should be there to regulate, facilitate and legislate/enforce laws. When you facilitate industries, jobs are created. When jobs are created, people spend money, giving the government taxes to do it’s job. When the economy earns foreign capital, it means Dominica can grow. Currently, Dominica just don’t have the spending power to spur economic growth – because of the welfare state.
The jobs government ‘create’ should only be part of gov’t’s mandate to provide services to it’s people. It is a very bad sign when the government is in the business of building the only new hotels on the island, creating the only new jobs, giving away houses, and free everything else you can think of.
Meanwhile businesses are closing/struggling, per capita income is stagnant and productivity is non-existent – why, because people can choose not to work and still ‘get the keys’! This is a malady!
Dominica must produce!; it must innovate!; it must create! Hard work is what will transform Dominica.
dont worry skerro , give them the house, linton will give them the jobs when he come in very soon from now ,so that they may pay their utility bills,,
take the house people ,the jobs are soon coming,because a house without a job is like education without employment
just dont forget to vote workkkkkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeeeerrrrrrsssssssssss
Great job PM, God Bless You Always. When you give you will get more than you expected/ bargin for.
On another note what about the theraphy for the disable and elder who are house bond. I have been waiting patiently to know who I should contact. Can any one advise me as to who I could call. My mom genuienly needs that assistance.
Election coming fool them for another 5 years.
So if getting a house is fool, so be it. What have you got to offer that is not fooling eh grell? Did you enjoy the families living as they were???? Persons like you grell need to be more appreciative and not politically disgruntled.
Sot you sot.
For those that stay out there and speak ill of the people that try to do better for the poor we may not know who you are but God knows who you are. To sit there and say this building was not worth the 1million dollars is so sad on you all part, to sue this as a party ploy to make the people think it should have been less I think its worth more than what the paid. Did any of you including the UWP party did you all ask how much 8″ blocks was used and how much 6″ was used? did you ask how many yards of concrete was used? the one you all cant eat plumbing, and electrical pipes and fittings? now calculate that after they tell you and see how much you come up with. Ask the Dominicans that worked on that project if they were not paid. A two bedroom house in DA cost anywhere from 250 to 300 hundred grand between labor and materials, so to sit there and try to insinuate that they got kick back from this project is a damn shame on you all part.
For those that stay out there and speak ill of the people that try to do better for the poor we may not know who you are but God knows who you are. Satan know us too lol! He know U 2 hahahahah To sit there and say this building was not worth the 1million dollars is so sad on you all part. No it was a modest dwelling for $400,000.00 EC Ask the Dominicans that worked on that project if they were not paid. I thought it was chinese who built it and formed the labour force Wee! and try to insinuate that they got kick back from this project is a damn shame on you all part.The kickback is the the 6 families votes secured for Ti papa lol!
They are extremely negative people who are envious and always trying to debase the government. They never have anything good to state which is imbedded in their hearts. Too bad for them. Envy gets nobody anywhere.
I hope these people have jobs so they can maintain the building and pay their bills….otherwise in no time the place will be an eyesore…..
Also I hope the place has been fenced because it is crazy to have a apartment building front unto a major highway where accidents and deaths are known to happen in the recent past.
Finally , 4 2-bedroom apartments and 2 single room apartments cost $1mill?…Was that the most economical option?
U ppl need to stick to y’all area of expertise paskeh zor ka kohtwayay moun apwayzan. R u a valuator, cost estimator, quantity surveyor? No? Well then swallow ur comment!!
Tim dominica will give them jobs
Be positive. I am certain they are extremely elated with their new housing. It is a treat for them. Wish them well and offer concrete advice of encouragement.
How does this concern you do you have a job can you take care of your house/shack/cave mind your own business and move on. Leave these things for educated people to deal with.. No one ask you to make any comment if you were intelligent you would know that there is something called citizens right.. And also a social system read it up and stop using dno as your platform to criticize the good deeds of man.
Labour ka Twavay!!! While Lennox siwoing in Las Vegas.
Anonymus, If you are not so smart, please tried an get some wisdom. LENNOX LINTON IS NOT A MEMBER OF GOVERMENT so what is the big story behind he and Las Vegas.. You have a PM athat using Tax payers money to do all sorts of crookedness that you should lament on. if you lack wisdom as for … :
You are absolutely right.. Siwoing is joke. More like galavanting. Did you see how Many places he has been to in a short space of time and he is proud to boast about it what a bunch of losers, this money could go towards the campaign.. Or maybe he has plenty more where this come from…
learn to spell
you jealous
yuo are a foolish ignorant person .go vote your ype
Dominica should hold elections every year, then all Dominicans will be comfortable, with new houses, new roads and even new jobs under NEP.
Your point there???? Your contribution???? Please be appreciative and stop the negative comments.
Ha ha.
…..try again!
i think so too
…. and the Labourites fall for it once again…..
I would recommend that the apartment buildings be built like those in lower bath estate by the river..this is too old fashion…give every apartment its own entrance and outside view with steps leading up to the second and third floors if possible…great job but we can do better in terms of the layout…ck those government buildings in Barbados!
They are D/can projects like in the ghetto section of the USA
where black & latinos live although some civil servants in the USA live in them beating the highrents on the commercial market when they can afford to pay market rates.
I would honestly want someone to tell me what is Ambrose George crying about. Personally I have an idea why, because I live in the Newtown area.
He is overcome with joy at handing over the apartments to the future occupants. He has also seen the happiness in their faces of finally having a decent and comfortable home. This is how positive and well-meaning people would view his demeanor.
He is someone who cares about the squalor these people endured from 79 he is also overjoyed that they can have a much secure and comfortable place to live… They were ashamed to be seen in these parts, now they are happy and he is happy with them.. He has a heart where as you have a heartless… You have no emotion this is clear based on your comment you ramble like a cave man/woman get off dno and go fish something to eat
Ambrose George knows exactly what he is crying for…..deep down he know that building didnot cost 1 million dollars cuz thats wat he is crying about..evildoers..i say
Crocodile Tears, after u all vote DLP for five more years u all will see plenty plenty plenty plenty plenty misery under skerro, with high high crimes, high high unemployment all that is catch a vote schemes. Don’t say i did not tell you so.
Oh shut up!! You want people to put in Lennox so he can continue to go to Vegas with women to have a good time? You uwpites are really a waste of time, that’s why you all will never get back the reigns of power in DA.
Morihi I have never heard you say one uplifting comment. Always negative. So in your conscience to give persons homes is a crime???????
May the good Lord forgive and save persons like yourself and the others who spew hatred.
Before skerro as you call him there was crime .. Tomba, pocosion, dreadlocks uprising,the howlings just to name a few and there will still be crime after him so your comment is poor and lacking vision like all the others. Stop using dno as your political pulpit and go educate yourself properly..
Five more years!
my dad is a builder and 1 million ec can build so many houses consider the cost of 100 000 ec for a 2 bed hurricane resistant plywood steel framed house and that’s 10 houses that can be built they wasted money and build 6 houses for that same 1 million so the country moving forward there? i wonder which politician / politicians pockets that were padded as that project was going along. plus government projects can get duty free as well so that was a rip of and basically squandering the money that could have been spent in a much better way
No matter what somebody will always criticize
Well if your dad is a builder, then let me see you put your money where your mouth is …. for starters , let you and your dad build a model house for the 100,000.00 you said…. Money where your mouth is .
He ah right with every thing so costly like plumbing equipment , eletrical equipment etc. the house your daddy builds must be cheap and inferior… And the rest of the money is pocketed…
Should have been headlined : Ti Papa assured of 12- 48 votes with a median of 4 persons of voting age /household.
Nice one to the point you reading things clearly after all u are the statistician
What is the paint colour used? It is a very warm and welcoming colour! I love it.
I hope the lucky residents will have a peaceful and joyful life there.
Praise The Lord
Ask Felix Thomas. He was de contractor on de job.
BE CAREFUL AND VERY VERY SPECIFIC. THAT IS D FELIX THOMAS FROM KINGSHILL. LABAR SQUEEZER.. NOT MY DEAREST FELIX J THOMAS FOR MAHAUT ET AL
Way to go DLP another promise fulfilled. I am very happy for the people of Silverlake.
ces bien beau j;aime bien je voie que sa change bien cher nous a dominica merci a vous
****A CULTURE OF DEPENDENCY****
“They were given the keys to their new homes which come at no cost to them”.
……………………………………….
NO cost to them… but a cost to the rest of the working population.
Are we really helping our citizens or are we creating a dependent culture?
If one could not get out of a poor situation since 1979. What does this say about our economic situation in this country.
Creating dependency is a lost cause for all of us. It is UNsustainable!!!!
We must build the infrastructure that will enable better economic opportunities.
-Thanks
Seriously pal? All over the world you have working class citizens supporting malayway or pure lazy people. Shut up! Allu too like to act as if is da alone dem things happening. Would you rather them be on the road? Smh at you people
jealousy why don’t you shut that …. hole in your face,so it’s a culture of dependency in america or any where the governments makes life more easy for it’s citizens,go to hell with what you think vampire
I agree completely! Even a token price would be better than FREENESS. When one pays for something, they are more motivated to care for it, cherish it and be proud of it. AND, it makes the rest of us who worked and funded it feel less abused, and more inclined to support the move.
We must erase this culture of dependency, because, among several other negative effects, it WILL sideline and anger those of us who work so hard to earn a dollar.